OPEN ACCESS ( OA )
Open access (OA) offers an opportunity to use research outputs (study results and teaching materials distributed online, free of cost or other access barriers.

The OA objective is to autonomise the authors to be independent of publishers and to organise information circulation in the manner which enables researchers to freely disseminate their study outcomes and use the results of research conducted by others so that the expenditure on science can be used effectively. The implementation of Open Science policy in 2019 in Poland led to the initiation of the following programmes funded by Ministry of Science and Higher Education:

1. Open Choice Compact. The licence allows the researchers affiliated in Polish academic institutions to publish OA papers and monographs free of charge under CC BY licence, hybrid journals: 
https://wbn.icm.edu.pl/publikowanie-otwarte/#springer_oa

2. Elsevier Program OA. Pilot programme of open publishing in Elsevier link:
https://wbn.icm.edu.pl/publikowanie-otwarte/#elsevier_oa

3. Open Publishing Programme under the licence of Virtual Library of Science includes: Elsevier, Springer, LWW, OUP and others:
http://wbn.icm.edu.pl/publikowanie-otwarte/

Other publishers offering OA paid publishing:
1. BioMedCentral ( http://biomedcentral.com/journals)
2. Public Library of Sciences  (http://www.plos.org )
3. MedKnow Publications ( 
http://www.medknow.com/journals.asp)
4. Hindawi  (https://www.hindawi.com)
5. MDPI  (https://www.mdpi.com)
6. Frontiers Media ( https://frontiersin.org)

Search for OA journals starts from:
- Directory of Open Access Journal ( DOAJ),
the database which  provides information on the publishing policy adopted by the selected journal;
SHERPA/RoMEO – the portal provides information on the policy of selected publishers with regard to the author’s scope of rights;
Open Journal Gate – the largest database aggregating information on OA journals;
Free Medical Journal- the database informing of the journals accessible after embargo;
High Wire Press – the platform of journals and books on medicine and related sciences published by universities;
Independent Polish Researchers offer access to their publications in Polish journals,  half of which are available in OA e.g. at MMRI PAS in:

1.  Folia Neuropathologica by Polish Association of Neuropathologists and Mossakowski medical Research Institute PAS published and made available by  Termedia, as OA under CC BY-NS-SA licence;

2. OZwRCIN Repository– the Institute deposits and provides access to PhD theses and ‘habilitacja’ theses as well as in generally accessible Library of Science CEON
http://bibliotekanauki.ceon.pl/yadda/search/general.action?cid=9baefcd1-285c-4d9a-8c9a-b4ebe0289581
and CEON  Repository https://depot.ceon.pl/